The Smallest Dreams
by A Terrible Example
Summary: She won. Life was supposed to be "good" now. No more hunger, no more fear. But every good thing comes with its price. (Set pre-series. Johanna's and Finnick's lives and the corruption of the Capitol. Centered on Johanna. Multi-chapter.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've been playing around with Johanna and Finnick's friendship, how they met and all that. I've made a lot of assumptions, I know. But stick with me please. Read and review, any reviews are appreciated! Thank you! (and may the odds be_ ever_ in your favor)**

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Johanna glanced around the room. Everywhere, colorfully arrayed drunk men and women staggered, finding their way to the vomit potions. Whenever someone made a mess on the floor, an Avox was there to clean it up.

_ Disgusting freaks._ She rolled her eyes, turning the barstool she was seated in around. _I hate these stupid parties. Nothing but a bunch of idiots trying to-_

"Hello there," a smooth voice interrupted from the seat beside hers. That voice was Finnick Odair's, the boy from the fishing district. The _pretty_ boy from the fishing district.

"Hi." Johanna mumbled. Fifteen years old, a savage murderer, and talking to boys still made her nervous.

"Crazy night, huh?" he chuckled. "These get so wild. I love the food, but I hate the commotion."

Johanna's pride suddenly reared its head. She wasn't going to swoon for this overglorified fish boy, just because he could use a trident. She tried to sound completely uninterested. "Yeah. Real bummer."

"Can you keep a secret?" He leaned in closer, his voice quiet, even though no one was in earshot and if they had been, how would they have even heard them? People were singing and talking and music was playing. Ugh, that high-pitched music they swayed back and forth to. It felt like drill in her brain.

"I know a way up to the roof. It's quiet and doesn't smell like puke." Finnick's voice brought her back from her wandering mind. Ever since the Games the year before, she had more and more trouble focusing on things. She was just restless.

She looked over at him, searching to see if he was trying to use the Odair charm that had basically been the reason he'd survived his year in the games. His face, despite his being her age, didn't look as childish as hers. The only youthful things that stood out in those chiseled features were the dimple in his left cheek, and his lively eyes. He seemed sincere, and she did want to get away from all this madness...

"Okay." She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "At least it's a break from this stupid music they listen to."

"What?" He placed a hand on his chest like he was wounded, a sad look overtaking his face. "This is my favorite song."

She did nothing but stare at him. He suddenly laughed, startling her. "I'm kidding. Now come with me." He stood and held out his hand to lead her. She slid off the stool, suddenly feeling very small and young next to him. He took her hand and weaved his way through the crowd, dodging an old woman who wanted to give him a kiss as politely as he could.

As she was half-dragged through the building, her mind started to wander again. _Is he really this sure of himself? It's like he's never felt stupid. I bet it's the Games that did that. Am I going to end up like that? Confident, bold, maybe a little arrogant?_

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Once they reached the roof of the skyscraper they were in, he took off the jacket his stylist must have painstakingly spent hours on and handed it to her like it was nothing.

"It's a little cold up here. But I'm sweating bullets. You, on the other hand..." he nodded toward her dress. The purple fabric was lightweight and the closest thing it had to sleeves was a small string that traveled up her shoulders, around her neck. A _halter top_, Gracie had called it. Stupid seemed more fitting to Johanna.

He was right, the wind was chilly, and she gratefully put the too-big jacket on. They sat down on the cold concrete and she noticed the sky. Foggy and dark. Every time she saw fog, she couldn't help but think of the night before the reaping. Her tears. The way her father had tried to comfort her, but only Old Holly could. She'd been terrified, and her grandmother had taken her outside, around the tallest trees, and they'd looked at the foggy sky together. Neither of them said a word, just stared at the treetops and listened to the crickets and smelled the deep pine smell that Johanna missed so badly right now. A lump was forming in her throat, so she turned her thoughts away from Old Holly.

The silence was broken by Finnick.

"So...the Games." he paused, sounding a little unsure of himself. "What's it like to be a victor in District 7?"

Johanna was silent for a moment. _Horrible_, she wanted to spit the word out. _Disgusting. I killed the boy from our district. Everyone looks at me differently now. It's my own fault too. I fought and fought to stay alive. I ran and I killed and I did everything I knew to do, and in the end, I've lost more than I knew I had. Even my family is different. School is different_. The thoughts swirled around inside her head, bringing back the lump, so she forced the most honest answer she could manage and tried not to whimper.

"It's...different." _There. That was the truth._

"Yeah..." he trailed off. "Being a mentor is different. Last year's Games had a twelve year old boy and a seventeen year old girl..."  
She did her best not to shudder. She never really knew what happened to the boy, but she saw the face and the name of the girl tribute up in the sky whenever she tried to sleep. Her name and seven others. The ones she had killed.

"...the boy was so smart. He just wasn't fast." Finnick made no effort to hide the sadness in his voice. "The girl just stuck with the older mentors." He sighed. "I guess it's easy to attached to someone, even if you know they're going to die. Especially when you know they're going to die."

All this felt like too much for Johanna. She didn't want to be a mentor. She didn't want to get to know anyone and then see their body get lifted out of the arena. She just wanted to forget the Hunger Games had ever existed.

She turned and saw Finnick looking at her, and wondered if he'd seen the fear on her face. His eyes said that he had, and he understood. Both of them were still just kids.

"So...I don't know much about District 7. Except that you guys have trees, right?" He gave her a little smile.

"We do, and they smell better than fish." She smirked at him in spite of herself.

"Hurtful!" He cried, then started laughing. "I admit, we might stink sometimes. But it's home."

"Sometimes everything gets covered with leaves. I mean, covered. The trees all change colors in the fall, all this red and orange and yellow, but they turn brown and fall off. And get everywhere." She smiled wispily. "But when I was little, my grandma, Old Holly, used to help me and all the other kids gather the leaves up into big piles. Then we'd all run at one time and jump into the pile. My cousin Aspen got kicked in the face once."

"Were they okay?" Finnick seemed genuinely concerned.

"She had a black eye for a while. But she was okay." Johanna just laughed. "So tell me about District 4."

"Well, we only have palm trees. And they're the hardest thing to climb. Mags taught me how. She's my favorite mentor."

And as the night carried on, that was the beginning of the friendship between Johanna Mason and Finnick Odair.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I think I meant for this to be a sort of...flashback thing. Hence the italics. Maybe that's crazy though. Either way, I think I'm going to hold off on updating until I can get at least a couple reviews.**

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_ Johanna was screaming. Her sounds were unintelligible,_

_brought on by hysteria and terror. Tears weren't even a _

_possibility. She slammed her fists against the solid, wooden _

_walls of her small bedroom, against the door, against the bed._

_ "Johanna! Johanna, it's okay!" her father's voice came from the _

_other side of the door. "Johanna, it's me. I'm coming in." He _

_wasn't even sure if she could hear him._

_ She was startled to see him, and her legs gave way and she sat_

_on the floor, whimpering and shaking. Her father knelt beside _

_her, and gently laid a hand on her back. She tensed at the touch, _

_but didn't fight him._

_ "Johanna, it's okay. It's me. You're okay." he whispered. "You're _

_home and everyone is okay. Your mama is here, Old Holly is _

_here, and I'm here."_

_ As she looked at him, his broad frame and dark, thick hair, her _

_frightened-animal expression faded into recognition and the _

_realization that it was just another night terror sank in. She _

_quickly wiped the tears from her face, her hands still shaking _

_badly._

_ "I-I'm okay, Papa. I'm okay." she whispered. "Can I-can I _

_sleep in Old Holly's room?"_

_ "You'll have to ask her, but I'm sure she won't mind." He _

_smiled sadly and softly, the expression seeming almost strange _

_on his strong-featured face._

_ She felt a twinge of shame. Everyone had to take turns going _

_to her at night. It was an unspoken system. Old Holly and her _

_father were really the only ones who could calm her down. She _

_and her mother were two very different people, despite looking _

_so much alike._

_ Standing up, her father extended a hand to help her up. She _

_took it and once standing, fell into his arms with tears fighting _

_to return. He held her there for a long time, stroking her hair _

_and promising her that everything was okay. When they _

_separated, he went back to bed and she quietly crept into Old _

_Holly's room, even though she must've been awakened by her _

_granddaughter's screaming. Johanna was thankful that she _

_lived in the Victor's Village now, with its thick, strong walls and _

_"elbow room," as her dad had called it. In their old house, the _

_walls were sturdy, but thin, and everyone had lived right on top _

_of each other. Some even shared conjoined houses, with only a _

_hallway dividing them. Her panicking wouldn't have been _

_appreciated._

_"Old Holly?" she whispered, leaning on the doorframe._

_ Her grandmother scooted to make room for her, pulling back _

_the blankets. As Johanna climbed in, tears brimmed her eyes _

_again. But they were gone when a wrinkled old hand rested on _

_her back, a few comforting words were whispered, and a kiss _

_was placed on her forehead. She fell asleep quickly._

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**A/N: I tried to really capture just how important Old Holly and her father are to Johanna. Tell me how I did, what was good, what was bad, what was just plain stupid? Your review would be so awesome to read and it'd be really encouraging. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

Johanna was lonely. She missed Finnick. She missed her cousins, the ones who she had played with when she was young. Aspen was the only

one left that didn't seem disgusted or afraid. And Aspen, being seventeen, had finished her schooling and now worked long hours with her

parents and sisters.

A year had come and gone. Tributes had come, and died, and gone. She hadn't had to do that much mentoring, fortunately. But it still hurt. The

girl had lived right across from the Masons. She was a bully and Johanna hadn't liked her, but she didn't want her to die. The boy was from

some other part of the district, but she knew their fathers had worked together.

She hated calling Finnick too often. The phones were the only way they could talk, outside of the Capitol parties and presentations and such.

But today, she needed her friend.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered.

"Um, hi." Johanna murmured. Finnick's mother. She seemed to think there was some kind of romantic connection between the two of them, and

it always made Johanna uncomfortable.

"Hi, Johanna. Would you like to speak to Finnick?"

"Uh...yes. Please."

A few moments later Finnick's voice was in her ear. "Johanna? Hi." It had deepened since they had met, and he was even taller than he had been before.

Johanna had grown a bit, but she was still small for a sixteen year old. She had grown in other ways though, a smaller waist, a not-so-small

bust. Her face was less round and she looked less like a child.

"Hello, my dear Finnick!" she put on her best Capitol accent, and though he couldn't see it, her hands were talking just as much as she was.

"Oh, Johanna! How are you? Wonderful, I presume!" he replied in the same parody.

"I am, I am. I heard about your new hairstyle and oh, I must say it's darling!'

"Oh, thank you! It makes me feel quite pretty sometimes." he fell into laughter, followed by Johanna.

"Okay, for real now." she laughed into the receiver.

"So did you get asked to come to the Capitol?" he asked. "Apparently, my stylists are getting married."

"No, I guess not. Are you going?"

"Not unless you'll come. I can ask. I'm sure they wouldn't mind. The more victors, the more popularity, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"_Johanna?"_ she heard Old Holly call her from somewhere in the house.

"Hey, Finnick? I've gotta go. Old Holly wants me."

"Okay. You behave yourself." she could hear his smile on the other end.

"You too. Don't break too many hearts."

_"Johanna?"_

"Bye, Fin." and with that, she hung up the phone.

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**A/N: I want to give a big, big thank you to the readers, followers, and reviewers I have so far. You're awesome.**


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